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Cuthbert Mavheko
OUR society has lost its cultural moorings and many terrible things are happening in the country which were unheard of in the past. The trend is so frightening in what it portends and ought to shake everyone out of complacency to act now before the situation explodes to unmanageable levels. Reading newspaper headlines nowadays is akin to perusing through a horror novel: Pastor jailed for raping toddler; Teacher sodomises 10-year-old boy; Juvenile rapes 80-year-old granny; Father impregnates own daughter . . . These are some of the mind-boggling stories that grab the headlines of our newspapers and magazines almost daily. All this makes one wonder: What really is behind this shocking decadence of moral values?

From a moral standpoint it should be acknowledged that rape or the sexual assault of a woman or a child is the ultimate disrespect of another human being. It robs them of their humanity and the effects are long-lasting and, in many cases, permanent. The trauma and emotional conflict experienced by rape victims, particularly children, often leads to psychological disorders like depression, anxiety, feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness, reduced self-esteem, fear and mistrust of men when children grow up. Suicidal tendencies may also result.

Due to the fact that the scourge of rape has soared to alarming levels in the country, more and more people are calling for our courts to impose stiffer sentences for rape convicts in order to instill fear among other potential perpetrators.

Speaking at the launch of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence in Harare on November 28, 2014, the then Minister of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development Cde Oppah Muchinguri said the government will introduce a mandatory 30-year sentence for rape as the country accelerates its efforts to exorcise the ghost of rape and sexual abuse in the country. She said once the Cabinet adopts the proposal, raping children between zero and 12 years and sodomising and raping where the rapist knows they are HIV positive will attract life imprisonment, while 30 years will be the minimum for any case of rape. It remains to be seen whether such measures, if and when adopted, will stem the tide of rape in the country.

While efforts to obliterate the scourge of rape in the country are quite commendable, we must, however, be realistic and acknowledge that rape has very deep roots in human society. It is therefore foolhardy, and indeed naïve, to believe that such a simple solution as legislation will provide a panacea to the problem. Criminologists are unanimous in their assertion that there is no direct correlation between gruesome punishment and deterrence. They (criminologists) contend that although Zimbabwe enforces capital punishment on convicted murderers, there is not an aorta of evidence that this has reduced the incidence of murder in the country.

It is insightful to note that rape is not only confined to the female species. Over the years, the media in Zimbabwe has attested to this chilling reality of our time — the proliferation of cases where men are allegedly raped by women. While this might sound a bit far-fetched, the unfaltering truth is that many men have, of late, fallen prey to female nymphomaniacs. These sex predators, who are often referred to as “ritual male semen harvesters” top the list of female rapists who sexually abuse men for purposes of collecting their semen. Indeed, it is quite disconcerting to note that to date not one of these sexual perverts has been booked for their heinous crimes.

Today there is a myth that if women were more cautious in avoiding strangers, they would not be raped. This reasoning is hare-brained, neurotic and highly misleading because strangers are not the major culprits in most rape cases. Last year, the national co-coordinator of the Victim Friendly Unit, Assistant Commissioner Isabella Sergio said 70 percent of rape victims in Zimbabwe were raped by people they knew, with relatives and neighbours included on the list of perpetrators. Probably no group suffers more trauma than those raped by their own parents, grandparents, a brother, relative or friend. The other myth is that women attract rapists by the manner in which they dress in mini-skirts, tight-fitting shorts and see-through attire. How about toddlers and elderly women? Are they also raped because of their dressing? What is so sexually appealing about a toddler in diapers or an elderly woman dressed in a soiled gown? In case my real intentions are misconstrued, let me hasten to state that I am not disputing the fact that there is some correlation between women’s dressing and rape. Of course, the link is there, but it is not as direct and tangible as many people have been led to believe.

Psychologists the world over are unanimous in their assertion that a normal, sexually-active man thinks about sex and sex-related matters at least six times an hour. This figure increases if his environment is sexually-stimulating. Sexual stimulation can be induced by pornographic material like videos and magazines or provocatively-dressed females. The surest way to stimulate the sexual urge in a man is the sight of a semi-nude woman or one resplendent in sexy attire like a mini-skirt, or a see-through dress. It is important to state here that the sexual urge is as powerful as the desire for food. Once the sexual urge has been aroused in a man, it breeds a tension that fights for relief. Relief can, at best, come through intimacy with one’s spouse or, at worst, through casual sex, masturbation, rape or bestiality.

Toddlers and elderly women are not raped because of the manner in which they are dressed-they are simply victims of someone whose sexual urge has been aroused elsewhere by, for instance, a pornographic video, magazine or a scantily-dressed woman. This is the missing link that has eluded most people – that women who entice men by their dressing are not the ones who get raped, but some other innocent victim.

It’s worth noting that rape is not always motivated by the desire for sex. Some people rape to enhance their business fortunes after being instructed to do so by some pseudo traditional healers. Others rape out of the belief that sex with a toddler, a virgin or an elderly woman cures HIV/Aids. Psychologist Dr David Brooks, in his research spanning several years working with suspected and convicted rapists at psychiatric institutions in South Africa, maintains that 80 percent of all rape cases in South Africa occur in the home with fathers being the worst culprits in incestuous sex. According to Dr Brooks, the other group of rapists consists of lustful psychopaths, who murder their victims as an “added arousal”. This is not common in Zimbabwe, but in some countries like South Africa, Britain and the US, some rapists actually get satisfaction in watching their victims die.